Wagon brake



ETI'VIIKNO Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 14 0. LONG. WAGONBBAKE.

No. 576,207. I Patented Feb. 2, 1897.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. O. 0. LONG. WAGON BRAKE.

(No Model.) 7

Patented Feb. Z, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

CALVIN CRAIG LONG, OF lVASI-IINGTON, IOWA.

WAGON-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 576,207, dated February 2, 1897. Application filed June 29, 1896. Serial No. 597,418. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CALVIN CRAIG LONG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington in the county of Washington and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVagon-Brakes; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Myinvention relates to those brakes which are adapted to be used on wagons; and my object is to provide a construction which will not only be extremely simple, cheap, and durable, but which will be more efiective in operation, easy to manipulate, and more desirable generally.

To this end my invention consists of a reversible brake-lever in connection with a certain peculiar lever-frame and ratchet adapted to be attached to the side-board or box of the wagon.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my complete invention as applied to the side of the box of an ordinary farm-wagon; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a top view; Fig. 4, a sectional end view; and Fig. 5, a detail view of the end of the brake-lever seen from below as engaged with the ratchet.

The reference-n umeral 1 denotes the wagonbox, on the right-hand side of wh ch is secured a metallic frame 2, in which the lever 3 is fulcrumed and operates. This frame is composed of a horizontal bar 4, through which attaching-screws 5 pass to hold the whole frame securely in place. The lever 3 is fulcrumed on a stud 6, projecting horizontally from the disk 7, located at the middle of the horizontal bar 4, and is, by preference, cast integral therewith. The body of the stud 6 is concaved and is embraced by the convex wall of a hole through the lever, in order to allow the lever to be moved laterally in the operation of engaging and disengaging the ratchet, as will be seen in'dotted lines in Fig. 4. This ratchet consists of an arc-shaped bar 8, extending downward from the bar 4, and having ratchet-teeth on its outer edge. Projecting centrally from the inner side of the lowest portion of the ratchet-bar is a lug 9, adapted to lie against the body of the wagon and to receive a screw 10, for still more se curely holding the frame in place. lhe lever 3 is limited in its outward lateral play above its fulcrum by means of an arc-shaped bar 11, extending upwardly from a pair of short arms 12, which project out horizontally from the ends of the bar8, and in such relative position to the curved bar that the two may form a complete circle when viewed from the side, as in Fig. 2. The purpose of thus forming these bars is to make the lever come in contact with them always at a uniform distance from its fulcrum, in order that the friction against them may always be the same. The lever is allowed afree inward movement on the stud or fulcrum when released from the ratchet, as

will be more clearly seen in Figs. 3 and 4.

The opposite sides of the lever are made reversible by giving the lower arm thereof the form of a paddle with its widest diameter extending at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the plane of the Widest diameter of the lever at the fulcrum,as will be more clearly seen in Fig. 5. In other words, the lower end 16 is turned around to extend at an angle to the flat portion 17 of the lever, so that it will lie in substantially the same plane as that in which the teeth of the ratchet are pitched and thereby act like a pawl to engage the ratchet. The longitudinal edges 15 and 16 are beveled or tapered, and when one edge wears down the lever can be taken off and turned around and a fresh edge provided. This doubles the wearing life of the lever, and consequently makes the device far superior to those heretofore devised.

13 represents a rod which is attached to the lever above the fulcrum and extends back to the brake-beam.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that by pressing forward the upper end of the lever far enough to perform the breaking operation it can be held in such position by moving the beveled edge behind one of the teeth of the ratchet. In this latter operation the upper end of the lever must be pushed outward away from the Wagon and might bring considerable strain on the fulcrum, but for the fact that it comes in contact with the inner edge of the bar 11, which limits its outward movement. To release the lever and hence the brake, a reversal of these movements is necessary.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

1. The combination with a lever adapted to be attached at the side of a wagon, of a leverframeprovided with a horizontally-projecting stud on which the lever is fulcru med, said stud having a eoncaved exterior adapted to enter a corresponding hole in the lever, said lever being provided with longitudinal, tapering edges, and an arc-shaped ratchet disposed below the fulcrum of the lever as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination in a wagon-brake, of a frame adapted to be secured to the side of the Wagon-body, said frame consisting of a horizontal bar provided with a stud,an arc-shaped bar rising from horizontally-extending arms, an arc-shaped ratchet secured to and projecting downwardly from said arms, and a lever fulcrumed in the frame, and having the longitudinal edges of its lower end beveled to engage the ratchet, substantially as described. In witness whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CALVIN CRAIG LONG. Witnesses:

O. K. CLAPPER, DANIEL WILDE. 

